


Mistletoe

by AussieWriter1



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Christmas fic, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 06:37:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5365112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AussieWriter1/pseuds/AussieWriter1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on promo pics for 2x09 of 'The Flash'. Caitlin invites a somewhat unwanted guest to the Christmas party at Barry and Joe's place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is my first Snowells fic, and while writing it I realised I am absolute snowells trash. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Caitlin laughed as Cisco threw the remaining bits of a Christmas cracker at Barry, who had just beaten him for the third time in a row. Holding her drink and standing under the arch leading to the dining table from the living room at Barry and Joe’s place, Caitlin looked around at her friends, all smiling and laughing, finally getting a chance to enjoy the holiday season after so much chaos. Her smile slipped slightly, however, when she remembered that there was one missing from their number. Glancing again at the front door, the scientist shook herself slightly. She should have known that he wasn’t going to show.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Jumping at the voice, Caitlin turned to see Jay standing beside her, looking somewhat concerned. He must have noticed her separation from the main group, as well as the distant look in her eyes as her mind was taken away from the party and focused on what wasn't there rather than what was.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.” Caitlin smiled a little too brightly, allowing the former speedster to see through the facade. Luckily for her, however, he must have decided to let her keep her secrets, as he simply smiled back. 

They engaged briefly in a light conversation, with Caitlin being extremely glad to be distracted. Despite her romantic feelings for him dimming significantly over the past week or so, she still liked him and enjoyed his company. Plus, it was always interesting to hear about the other Earth, and about his life there. However, whenever he looked away, Caitlin found herself still checking the doorway, despite knowing that the chances of it opening any time soon were extremely slim.

After a few minutes, Caitlin felt herself relaxing a bit, enjoying the pleasant and festive atmosphere and talking to a fellow scientist. However, when Cisco called out from his place on the couch, Caitlin felt her mood dropping faster than Barry could run, as well as her anxiety kicking in.

“Hey, mistletoe!” Cisco pointed to the ceiling above Caitlin and Jay. “You know what that means! Pucker up!”

Everyone around the room started cheering and calling out, but Caitlin on the other hand could have killed Cisco. Underneath, she knew that he was only acting out of friendship. After all, he must have seen how Caitlin used to look at and speak to Jay, and clearly thought she still harboured feelings for him. She hadn’t told him, or anyone for that matter, about her feelings changing. 

Glancing up towards Jay, she felt even more guilt ridden when she saw the hope in his eyes. She couldn’t blame him, as she had until recently been returning his feelings, and they had almost kissed before in the van. He must’ve still thought that there was a chance, and was waiting for the opportunity. She tried to look anywhere other than his lips, not wanting to give off the wrong impression. But she still felt trapped, as she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of everyone by backing down. However she also didn’t want to kiss him and get his hopes up about a relationship, since she knew that she didn’t want that anymore. Not with him, at least.

The room was quiet as the two stood there, staring at each other. Caitlin could feel her muscles seizing up as she forced herself to stand still. No matter how much she wanted to run away and hide, she knew that she had to face this problem, head on. But as Jay started leaning down, Caitlin felt helpless for the first time in a long time. She had absolutely no idea what to do, which wasn’t something that happened often. Panicking slightly and with Jay still moving towards her, Caitlin wished for something, anything, to happen apart from what was seemingly about to happen.

With Jay inching closer, Caitlin felt a shout building at the back of her throat. She couldn’t let this happen, she couldn’t kiss him, she couldn’t -

Suddenly, her wild thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Everyone, including Caitlin and Jay, jumped, with Cisco emitting a loud shriek of surprise.

Not waiting for anything, Caitlin moved faster than she ever thought possible. Ignoring the confused looks on the faces of her friends, she moved past Jay and headed towards the door. Throwing a quick and ultimately unnecessary “I’ll get it” over her shoulder, Caitlin felt her face reddening slightly as the embarrassment began to set in. Not wasting a moment, she threw open the door, revealing Harrison Wells standing on the doorstep.

“You came!” Caitlin didn’t let her shock sink into her words, instead trying to focus on her joy at the fact that he had actually come.

“Yeah.” Harry seemed very unsure, standing awkwardly in a way she never thought possible for a man as confident as him. She noticed him glance over her slightly flustered appearance before continuing. “Bad timing?”

“Perfect, actually.” 

Without waiting for a response, Caitlin leaned forward and grabbed Harry by the arm, pulling him inside. If the room was quiet before, it was nothing compared to what it became. Barry and Joe actually stood up in shock, facing the two near the door.

“Wells, what -?” Barry began, before Caitlin cut him off.

“I invited him.” Caitlin looked directly at Barry, trying to stop an argument before it began. “He saved my life and has been helping us non stop since he arrived. Besides,” she smiled at Harry, “No one should be alone at Christmas.”

Silence overcame the group once again, with the next few seconds passing in agonising silence. The weight of what she had done by inviting Harry to the party was finally sinking in, and Caitlin felt her hand beginning to shake. She was glad she hadn’t yet removed it from Harry’s arm, as that masked the quivering quite well. Finally, just as Caitlin was beginning to think of a way to get out of the situation, Iris stood.

“Well, we’re glad you’re here, Dr. Wells. Would you like a drink?”

“Yes, thank you, Miss. West.”

Iris smiled and nodded. As she began moving towards the kitchen, Caitlin caught the young reporter’s eye. She tried to convey her extreme gratitude towards Iris in that look, and judging by Iris’ kind nod back, Caitlin assumed that she had gotten the message. She made a mental note to thank her verbally later, nonetheless.

The next couple of hours passed with everyone slowly getting back into the swing of things. Caitlin and Iris made a point to include Harry in their conversation, and slowly the others loosened up as well. The only person who never really traded words with Harry was Jay, but Caitlin thought it was probably for the best. She discussed it with Iris while they were in the kitchen grabbing the food, and they both agreed that no words was better than another fist fight. However, Caitlin had noticed Jay looking her way a few times, a dejected look in his eye. Shrugging it off, she focused on enjoying the party, especially the part where Harry seemed to stay by her side the whole time.

Caitlin could not have been more grateful for Iris. The fellow young woman was one of the first to accept that Harry wasn’t Eobard, and didn’t hold the evil speedster’s actions against the innocent man. Caitlin wasn’t sure she could have made it through the party without Iris helping to make Harry feel included, as well as her words with Barry and Joe that calmed them down early on.

As the evening came to an end, and the others had left one-by-one, Caitlin found herself at the dinner table quietly talking with Harry and Iris. They were asking Harry questions about his Earth and if things around the holidays differed where he was from. Caitlin wished they were at STAR Labs, where she could take down extensive notes about the other Earth, but settled for remembering everything she could. Eventually, Iris excused herself and headed up to bed, and Caitlin and Harry were left sitting in comfortable silence.

As Caitlin stared at the table, thinking over the evening, Harry spoke up.

“Thank you, Caitlin. This was … nice.”

“You’re very welcome, Harrison. I’m glad you came.”

The two scientists smiled at each other, both happy that he hadn’t spent this Christmas alone like he had planned. The fact that this was the first time he had called her by her first name didn’t go unnoticed by either. Looking away, Harrison began to get up.

“Well, I think we should get going, unless you’re sleeping here?”

“No, I’m heading home.”

“Driving?”

“Well I was supposed to be getting a lift home with Jay, but …” Caitlin’s voice petered out, as she gestured to the empty space around them.

“Ah. Well then, I guess I’ll walk you home.”

“You don’t have to do that, you know.”

“I know. But what kind of man would let a beautiful woman like you walk home alone?”

Caitlin laughed at his playful tone, grabbing her bag from where it rested at her feet.

“The kind of man that I would not want to be around.”

Harry smiled, laughing at the insinuation towards the former speedster and his manners as he helped her into her coat. They walked together for a few feet before Caitlin stopped, patting down her pockets.

“Wait, I can’t find my phone.”

She felt Harry stopping as well, as they both looked around for any sign of it. Caitlin couldn’t see it on any of the tables, and began patting down her jacket.

“Hang on, there it is!” Caitlin laughed, pulling it out of her inside jacket pocket. “Sorry about that.”

Pocketing the phone again, she looked up at Harry, only to find him looking up at the ceiling. Following his gaze, she found herself staring at the mistletoe. The two scientists slowly looked down until they were gazing at each other. 

“Mistletoe.” Caitlin found herself unable to say anything apart from the obvious, as Harry’s bright eyes caught hers in a trance.

“Yeah.” Harry responded, his voice low and quiet. Caitlin had no idea what he was thinking, and decided to respond neutrally, steering the conversation into safer waters. She couldn’t have another Jay incident, especially since this time it would be her leaning in and ultimately being rejected by the other person. No matter how much she wanted to kiss the man standing less than a foot away, she also didn’t want to jeopardise anything between him and Team Flash. They still needed his help to defeat Zoom, after all.

“Does mistletoe, on your Earth I mean, does it mean-“

Before she could finish her innocent question, Harry had bent down and captured her lips with his in an elegant kiss. 

It wasn’t long, nor was it a passionate result of months of pent up angst. But it was still sweet, still perfect, if not a little reserved on both sides. Caitlin felt heat explode in her chest as she realised that this felt right. It wasn’t at all what she pictured with Jay, but instead was all she had wanted for a long time. Their lips moved in perfect sync, as if their brains had been planning this a lot longer than they consciously had. As they pulled away, Caitlin realised that her hands had somehow come to rest upon Harry’s chest, while his had made their way to sit on her waist. 

Slowly stepping away, the two scientists held each other’s gazes, with smiles creeping onto their respective features.

“Merry Christmas, Doctor Snow.”

“Merry Christmas, Doctor Wells.”

Still smiling, Harry offered his arm to Caitlin, who gladly accepted. They moved towards the door and stepped out into the cold night air. Caitlin shivered despite her coat and stepped closer to Harry. For some reason she expected him to become tense, but instead he stayed relaxed as he shut the door behind them and guided them forward.

As they walked they continued talking, mostly about the commonalities and differences between their worlds. But as they got further into their walk, the topic slowly became more personal. They both realised it but neither brought it up, both comfortable enough with each other to allow the conversation to swing that way. Caitlin spoke about Ronnie, and about her work at STAR Labs before the Particle Accelerator explosion, and in turn Harry shared a few stories about his daughter, as well as insights about his work and life at his STAR Labs. By the time they had reached Caitlin’s building, the scientist felt as though she knew more about this Harrison Wells than she ever knew about the old one.

He insisted on escorting her up to her apartment, not that Caitlin put up much of a fight. When they got to her door, Caitlin offered him the couch, since she knew that he most likely slept at his desk at STAR Labs. But Harry, ever the gentleman, politely refused.

“If the tense reaction I received from my arrival at the party is anything to go by, our friends at STAR Labs will not take kindly to us arriving together tomorrow.”

“Fair enough.”

The two stood awkwardly, the conversation ending but without a proper goodbye. Neither seemed to know what to say or do, but both appeared to want something. Caitlin felt a yearning to kiss him goodnight, but she knew that wouldn’t end well for either of them. Best to just let go, and see what happened between them tomorrow.

“Well, goodnight then, Caitlin. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Harry smiled, apparently having the same thoughts as Caitlin, before stepping back towards the elevator.

“Wait.” Caitlin stepped forward, her body seeming to already be ahead of her mind. She couldn’t let him walk away without seeing if he too was curious about where they stood now. She wondered if he considered their kiss to be a one time thing, or if he shared her curiosity and building emotions.

Harry stopped and turned back, his expression curious.

“We should have coffee, sometime.”

Harry grinned at her tenacity, before responding.

“I’d like that.”

Caitlin smiled back, relief flooding her body, before wishing him goodnight and making her way into her apartment. Little did she know that Harry would remain outside for a few extra moments, staring at the door and wondering how in hell he could have been so lucky that of all the Earths he could have landed in, he landed in the one with this Caitlin Snow.

**Author's Note:**

> FIN. Aha hope you enjoyed that :) If there are any problems like typos or you think someone is out of character, please let me know! I'd love to continue writing for these two, but if I do I need to know what to fix. Anyway, thanks for checking this out, and have a great day :)


End file.
